


Peace Of Mind.

by WhatTheWentz



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Archie needs a hug, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Mentioned Pedophillia, Statutory Rape, and he gets one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-09-25 04:24:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9802544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatTheWentz/pseuds/WhatTheWentz
Summary: Coda to 1x04, where Fred tries to comfort Archie.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm happy Ms Grundy (or w/e her real name is) is gone but I wish they would've resolved it better, and I wanna give Archie a hug, seriously.
> 
> Sorry if this is awful.

_ This wasn’t your fault. _

 

Archie wasn’t sure how four simple words were able to reduce him to a mess of tears when he had been determined to be strong, but it had happened, and now his father was holding him, one hand stroking in his hair.

 

It hurt.  Ms Grundy had left, and although everyone had told him she was bad for him, part of him couldn’t believe it.

  
He knew what they had been doing was illegal, he knew that she had been manipulating him at moments, but all the good drowned out the bad, at least for now.

 

“It’s okay…” his dad mumbled into his shoulder, “You’re okay.”

 

After a couple of painful moments just standing there, sobbing, Archie felt his dad pull away and rest a hand on his cheek.

 

“Let’s go inside, okay?” he hated how soft his dad’s voice was, thinking that he deserved to be screamed at, to be punished.

 

His dad closed the door of the car before wrapping an arm around Archie’s shoulders and leading him indoors and letting him crash down onto the sofa, silent tears rolling down his cheeks as his father left to go to the kitchen.

 

Archie shivered, a feeling of lightheadedness coming over him as everything began to dawn on him.  Ms Grundy may have had a tragic past, but she had also used whatever control she had over him to her advantage.

 

The logical part of him knew she should’ve gone to jail, but his aching heart screamed louder at him.

 

Another sob escaped him and he buried his face in his hands, his entire body shaking as he cried.  His dad returned almost instantly, coming to sit next to him.  He felt his dad hold him close once more, trailing a hand up and down his back.

 

_ “I’m… I’m sorry.”  _ Archie gasped out practically hysterically.

 

His dad shook his head against the redhead’s shoulder, “Shh…  It’s not your fault.”

 

“Wh-Why do you keep defending me?” Archie asked, pulling away, “You know I’ve done wrong, th-that I did this too, it’s not just her.  So why?”

 

Fred sighed, looking at his distraught son for a moment before replying, “Because you’re my son and you’re just a kid.  What she did to you, there’s a name for it.  It’s called statutory rape.”

 

Archie flinched, “I-It wasn’t--”   
  


“It doesn’t matter what happened.” Fred explained, “What matters is she was in a position of power to you and older than you, and she used that to manipulate you.”

 

Archie sniffled, “Th-Then why didn’t you get the police on her l-like Alice wanted?”

 

“Alice wanted to exploit you.” Fred answered, “She wanted to take what that… that  _ monster  _ did to you and turn it into a story.  She didn’t care that you were the victim.  All she cared about was making you out to be the bad guy.”

 

The redhead choked out, “B-But I  _ am  _ the bad guy.”

 

“No, you aren’t.” Fred insisted, “You’re the victim in this situation, and trust me, if things had’ve been different, I’dve chucked that bitch in jail myself.”   
  


Archie flinched at the harshness of his father’s words, “She came here b-because she was suffering from abuse.”   
  


“Even if that is true, being abused does not excuse what she did to you.  You’re a kid; a minor.  She’s an adult in a position of power.” Fred then wiped away a couple of the fallen tears, “This wasn’t your fault, okay?”

 

Archie inhaled shakily and nodded before resting his head on his dad’s chest, allowing himself some semblance of comfort.

 

***

 

Hours passed, and Archie found himself unable to sleep so simply stared out of the window.  He and Betty had been texting for a bit but she had went to bed so he was now left on his own, sitting in the dark.

 

He felt like every nerve in his body was fried, the explanation of the wrongs Ms Grundy had committed had shaken him to his core.   He felt wrong; like everything about him was broken and like it could never be fixed.

 

Suddenly, he felt the urge to cry again but pushed it back, managing to drag himself to bed finally.  Almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell into a fitful sleep.

 

***

 

Archie was awoken by a gentle shake later.  He groaned, pulling the covers over his head and rolling over.

 

“I don’t want to go to school.” he mumbled drowsily.

 

His dad’s voice was soothing as he said, “Actually, you slept right through school.  There’s a couple of people here to see you though.”

 

Archie pulled the covers away, opening his eyes, “Who is it?”

 

“See for yourself.” Fred gave a gentle smile as he left the room.

 

It took a couple of minutes, but Archie managed to muster up the strength to get up and dressed before he headed downstairs and saw Kevin, Jughead, Veronica and Betty all sitting in his living room.

 

“Hey guys.” he gave a weak smile.

 

Kevin crossed his arms, “These three still won’t tell me what’s going on so all I know is that you, Archie, need some friend time.”   
  


“You didn’t have to--”

 

Betty cut him off, walking over and taking his hands in hers, “Yes, we did.  We stick together through everything, remember?”   
  


Archie nodded, then was pulled into a secure embrace by the blonde, an embrace that made him feel the tiniest bit better.  He buried his face in her shoulder and held back the tears that threatened him.

 

“Ugh.” Jughead snarked, “Human affection.  Gross.  And yet, heartwarming.”

 

Betty pulled back from the hug and led Archie over to the others, who had bags by their feet.

 

“What’s with the bags?” he queried.

 

Veronica was the one that replied, “Well, we can’t have a movie marathon without food.”

 

“‘Movie marathon’?” Archie looked confused.

 

Veronica nodded, “You need to have a bit of fun in your life, Archiekins.”   
  


“I chose the movies, by the way!” Betty piped up.

 

Jughead grinned at her, “And your taste is just impeccable.”   
  


Archie moved to sit in between Veronica and Betty on the couch, sighing, “Fine, I’ll humor you.  What movies have you picked?”

 

“Good ones.” Jughead replied flatly, “Now shush.”

 

Kevin and Jughead settled on the floor in front of the girls and Archie, Jughead reaching over to put in the dvd.

 

Meanwhile, Fred watched from the kitchen, relieved that Archie seemed to be okay for now.  He knew it was going to be a process, and the boy’s trauma was far from over but in this moment, he was allowed to be himself.  He was allowed some peace of mind.

**Author's Note:**

> Review/Kudos


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